The FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship Qualification Tournament came to a close last Friday at the SCA Multi-Purpose Center. In its final match, Team Belize faced off against Honduras, but in this game the stakes were high. If Belize lost, they would have only earned enough points to place fourth in the tournament, but a win meant that a Belizean team would take to the podium for the medal ceremony for the first time in sixteen years.
Alex Courtenay reporting
Coming off a day of rest, Belize started off its match against Honduras strong. With a commanding offense, the home team managed to gain an early lead and stay there.
From the start, Team Belize showed its intensity, never missing an opportunity to send powerful spikes down at their opponents. Though they put up a fight, Team Belize managed to break through the Honduran defense and take the first set.
Team Honduras came back stronger in the second set, keeping the score tight between the two teams. Still, Team Belize managed to capitalize on the Honduran team's mistakes while making sure to correct their own and win again in the second.
Team Belize kept the momentum going into the third set. With the crowd cheering them on, the Belizean players remained dominant, using fast paced decoy plays to stretch their lead and wear down Team Honduras.
After a brilliant display and show of skill, team Belize emerged triumphant. The players celebrated, and showed their appreciation for their coach, who trained them since February.
Bryton Codd - Outside Hitter, Team Belize
"Well this game was a little bit more relaxing for us. We noticed that they were trying to change the pace of our game and try to have us drop from our level to their level but we just came out of that mental lapse and came out with the win. To have done this in front of our own Belizean people it's just an honor. It's overwhelming, it's fun, you name it, it's that."
Reporter
"Alright Karym get in on this celebration here. How easy was it for you to overcome Honduras?"
Karym Coleman - Captain, Team Belize
"We just had to put our minds right and execute so for us it was kind of tough. We kind of had to stay a little focused but in the end we managed to pull it off."
Team Belize clinched a bronze medal, ending a sixteen-year drought, but that wasn't all the team walked away with. Players from the Belize team earned individual awards.
Keith Castillo - Outside Hitter, Team Belize
Keith Castillo won an award for second best spiker.
Yserri Palacio - Middle Blocker, Team Belize
Yserri Palacio won second best blocker even though he had the most blocks in the tournament.
Karym Coleman - Captain, Team Belize
Team captain, Karym Coleman, also won big with the Top Scorer Award.
While Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, the top two teams in the tournament, will move on to the next round of Volleyball World Championship qualifiers, the players from Team Belize will go back to balancing school, work, and of course to begin training for their next tournament.
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